The expanse

We’ve mapped nearly every inch of the breadth and depth of the Great Lakes. We’re getting there with the oceans and we’ve navigated our way to the moon and back. We understand our galaxy’s place among others in our cosmic neighborhood. We have a fairly good idea about the size of the universe. And it’s all big.

Yet most of the time, we don’t think about the expanse that we inhabit. We tend to focus our attention on our immediate environment. I once read that a deer in the wild will most likely live its entire life and die within a half mile of the spot where it was born. So much for the freedom of the wild. All that space gone unused and unexperienced.

Every once in a while I like to walk to the edge of my half-mile tether and take a glimpse at the expanse beyond. And I dream about maybe taking a bold step and adding another half mile to my existence. Then I take a few pictures and head back home.

Moonrise, Sturgeon Bay canal lights, Door County, Wisconsin. Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.